Dallas Baptist SAT Scores, GPA, and ACT (2026)

Dallas Baptist University is a private nonprofit university in Dallas, TX, and Dallas Baptist SAT scores tell a friendlier story than most students expect. The middle 50 percent of admitted students scored between 960 and 1213 in the 2024-2025 cycle, with an average of 1120. The campus itself is small: about 2,403 undergraduates, which is a fraction of what nearby public flagships enroll. That scale shapes the admissions picture. With 88.8% of applicants getting in, the school admits nearly 9 out of 10 students who apply, so the numbers work as a benchmark rather than a wall.

Still, the range matters. A 960 puts you at the 25th percentile, meaning 3 out of 4 admitted students scored higher. A 1213 puts you in the top quarter of the class, which changes how your application reads. The section splits are worth a look too: Reading and Writing runs from 490 to 620, while Math runs lower, 470 to 593. In the most recent federal data, Dallas Baptist is test optional, so you decide whether your score goes in the file. If your number sits at or above that 1120 average, sending it is an easy call.

Read the 960 to 1213 range in 3 zones. Below 960, you are behind 3 out of 4 admitted students. With an 88.8% admit rate you may still get in, but a low score adds nothing, and since the school is test optional you would likely withhold it. Inside the range, say 1050 or 1120, you look like a typical admit. The 1120 average sits almost exactly at the midpoint, so landing near it means you blend in, which at a school this open is perfectly workable. Above 1213, you outscore at least 3 out of 4 admitted students, and your score becomes an asset worth sending.

The section splits shift the picture slightly. Reading and Writing sets the higher bar: 490 to 620 versus 470 to 593 for Math. A 600 in Reading and Writing clears the 75th percentile for that section, while the same 600 in Math clears it with room to spare. If your composite is borderline, check which section is dragging it down. For most students aiming here, Math is the cheaper place to find points.

Admitted students at Dallas Baptist typically present an unweighted GPA somewhere around 3.0 to 3.5. That band lines up with an 88.8% admit rate: the school is looking for students who can do college work, not a class full of valedictorians. A 3.2 with a real course load reads fine here. What matters is that your transcript shows steady effort across 4 years, not a strong start that fades.

The number on its own is only half the read. Grades earned in rigorous courses count as much as the GPA itself, so a B in a harder class carries more weight than an A in an easy one. And if your GPA sits at the lower edge of that band, a strong SAT is the fastest offset available. Pushing your score toward the 1213 mark, the 75th percentile here, gives an admissions reader hard evidence that your grades undersell you. A transcript question takes years to fix. A score can move in months.

Set 2 concrete targets. First, get to 960 or above. That is the 25th percentile, and hitting it keeps you inside the range where most admitted students land. Second, if you want your score to actively help, aim at 1213 or above: that puts you in the top quarter of the admitted class and makes submitting an obvious yes under the test optional policy. Between those 2 numbers, the average of 1120 is a sensible midpoint goal, roughly 560 per section, though remember Math runs a bit lower here than Reading and Writing.

How far you have to climb decides the plan. Going from 900 to 960 is a few weeks of targeted work. Going from 1000 to 1213 needs structured score plans with weekly checkpoints, not random practice tests. Start by finding out where you actually stand: take a diagnostic and get a section by section readout against the 960 and 1213 lines. Then block out 3 study sessions this week aimed at your weaker section, and lock in a test date roughly 8 weeks out.